Tang Ri Shan

Conundrum

(Okay, I've got my second wind. Here's the next chapter. I think we're nearing the climax.)

Chapter 9

Batman dropped behind an upturned car, crouching down as bullets ripped through the metal. Pluckign a gas grenade from his belt, he lobbed it over the roof of the car. The grenade went off, filling the air with a thick green smoke, and Batman was rewarded with the startled cries and sounds of choking coming from the gunmen, followed by a series of thumps.

Satisfied, Batman turned to watch Katana swing repeatedly at the Ten-Eyed Man with her sword, but the man kept dodging her blows. He reached for his belt and snapped open a batarang. He waited until the man's back was to him, then threw it. But just as it looked like it was going to hit, the man suddenly moved and the batarang wizzed past his hand, causing the man to jerk it away. Batman growled as he watched the man continue to dodge Katana's attacks. Something was strange about the man's hands, they were held at odd angles. One hand was raised in front of him, his fingers pointing at Katana, while the other hand as behind his back, facing towards Batman. As Batman watched, every time the man moved, his hands stayed at the same position. Batman narrowed his eyes, there was something on the man's fingers. It was faint, but the ends were off color. They were paler. They looked kind of like-eyes!

Batman's eyes widened as one of the eye-like images on the man's finger blinked! They were eyes! That explained it. The man had optic sensors on each of his fingers! That allowed him to see where their attacks were coming from. How could they defeat someone like that? Out of depseration, Batman threw another batarang at the man, and again, the man dodged, but Batman usddenly noticed that he whipped his hands back at the last second so that at least one finger was always pointed at him. That gave him an idea. Batman leapt from his hiding place, scooping up a handful of dust from the ground andcharged towards the man, drawing his other hand back in a fist. The man's eyes tracked his progress and they actually narrowed as Batman grew closer. Batman swung with his free hand, and the man dodged, as expected, twisting so that his fingers were in the same place, but Batman was ready. He threw the handful of dust, which enveloped one of the man's hands in a cloud of grey. The man gave an angry roar and shook his grey hand, trying to ge the dust off.

"Now!" Batman yelled, bringing his leg up in a snap kick, at the same time Katana lunged from the other side. As Batman expected, with one hand blinded, the man couldn't follow both of them. He blocked Batman's blow, but was too slow to dodge Katana, who thudded into him, knocking him into a pile of debris. He screamed in pain.

"Finally" Katana smiled, sheathing her sword. "I thought I'd never be able to hit him"

"He's not down yet" Batman replied as the Ten Eyed Man struggled to his feet, looking very angry. "Katana, what do you see on his fingers?" Batman asked.

Katana's eyes narrowed, then widened. "Are those his...EWWW!" She was so disgusted she actually took a step back.

"Now we know why he's called the Ten Eyed Man" Batman mused.

"So you know" The Ten Eyed Man growled, raising his hands. All ten of his fingers were covered in dust and soot, each of his eyes were narrowed, like they were squinting. "It doesn't matter. As long as I can still see, you still can't win" With a yell, he threw himself at Batman in a hi jump kick.

Meanwhile

"Woahh!" Oracle screamed as the Question spun the wheel. The blue, unmarked car shot through the tightly snarled traffic, earning blaring horns and angry shouts of other drivers.

"What's the big idea?" She yelled as the Question skidded around a bus and screeched down a side street.

"Sorry, I'm not used to driving with a passenger." The Question replied, slowing down between a pair of large trucks. Oracle breathed a sigh of relief. She felt her heart beating so hard it threatened to jump out of her chest.

"Okay, besides trying to kill me, what was to point of that?" She turned to the faceless man in the driver's seat.

"Just making sure we weren't followed" He explained, turning to stare, sightless, at the rear view mirrors.

"With your kind of driving, the only people who would follow you would be a police squad." Oracle grumbled.

"Well, you don't get ahead in the game of intrigue without being cautious" The Question said, matter-of-factly, causing Oracle to glance at him in disbelief.

"This isn't being cautious, this is being paranoid!" Oracle yelled.

"Are they so different?" The question turned to look at her, causing Oracle to pause. He had a point, but she didn't want to give him the satisfaction.

"You know you still haven't told me why you need my help." Oracle changed the subject.

"Do you remember the first question I asked you?" The Question responded.

"Umm, What took you so long?"

"No" The Question shook his head. "Before that. Think back to my first message"

Oracle thought for a minute. "Where is the best place to strike a hydra?"

"Good, now try to answer it"

"Huh?" Oracle tilted her head, confused. The Question sighed, and reiterated.

"What is the best way to kill a hydra? Do you cut off its heads, or do you stab it in the heart?"

"Well, the heart obviously" Oracle answered. "But what does that have to do with me?"

"There is a hydra in Gotham" The Question replied, his tone suddenly becoming serious.

"What?" Oracle felt her eyes widen.

"Not literally, of course" The Question quickly corrected himself. "But figuratively. The hydra's strength is its many heads, and if you cut one off, another grows in its place. A criminal organization works in the same way. A crime boss is the heart of the hydra, his enforcers and flunkies are the hydra's many heads"

"Hmmm, makes sense" Oracle pondered, seeing the picture in her mind. "So you're saying that a new crime syndicate is moving into Gotham?"

"In a word, yes."

"So, again, why do you need my help? Can;t you just ask Batman, or even Katana?"

The Question didn't answer right away. Instead, he pulled in front of a warehouse and parked. Switching off the engine, he turned to look at Oracle. Even though he had no visible eyes, Oracle was sure he was staring right at her and suddenly felt nervous.

"I can't ask Batman for help because it would be the logical choice, our enemy would be expecting Batman and Katana, perhaps even me." The question paused. "But they will not be expecting you." He added.

Oracle suddenly felt her face flush. "So, I'm like your secret weapon?" She joked.

The Question chuckled. "Correct, I suppose. Against this particular enemy, I feel that the element of surprise is out most effective weapon. While Batman and Katana deal with the hydra's heads, this leaves the two of us free to strike at the beast's heart."

"And where is the hydra's heart?" Oracle asked, glancing out the window at the darkened warehouse before them, all the doors were sealed and the windows boarded.

"Follow me" The Question replied, stepping out of the car. Oracle followed as the Question lead her to a pile of boxes stacked against the wall. As she watched, the Question fiddled with something, and a whole column of boxes suddenly swung away, revealing a door behind them.

"Cool trick" Oracle commented as she stepped through the door into a large room which somewhat resembled an office, containing bare walls, a table, some chairs, and a bulletin board.

"To answer your question" Oracle looked up as the Question closed the door and clicked on the overhead light. "It's not where is the hydra's heart. It's who". The Question pointed towards the board. Oracle took a closer look and saw that the board was crammed with pictures and newspaper clippings, and statements. Different colored threat crisscrossed the bulletin board, connecting different pictures to other things. Oracle saw a few pictures of Batman on the board, and some of the other outsiders. She also saw a lot of pictures of Wesley Farmin on the board, most of them ringed in red thread or marker.

"Wesley Farmin?" She asked, turning to the question.

"Yes, a monster in human form" The Question spat, making no attempt to hide the bitterness in his voice.

"What do you mean? Sure he's a politician, but he's a nice guy" Oracle argued, but stopped when the Question slowly turned his head to stare at her. Oracle shivered, like she could feel waves of anger and sadness rolling off of him.

"Let me take you to Hub City sometime, Oracle." He said quietly, but the tension in his voice was clear. "Let me show you the stones, the headstones of all the people that Wesley was 'nice' to. And let me then take you to the hospital, to the bed of a certain person" The Question paused and dipped his head in clear despair. "The bed of his wife, Myra, who he deliberately placed in a coma." The Question stopped when he noticed Oracle's shocked expression.

"Seriously?" Oracle's voice cracked.

The Question nodded. "Wesley Fermin is a dangerous man, even more so now. He is alcoholic, corrupt, and, if I may say, paranoid, growing more insane by the day. If you doubt me, have commissioner Gordon contact the police in Hub City, they will have many more stories of how 'nice' Wesley Fermin is. He needs to be stopped, before he hurts anyone else."

Oracle frowned. "The commissioner from Hub City never said anything about that" She countered, then felt her face flush as the Question glanced at her and cocked his head. Nice going, idiot! she yelled at herself.

"He was well paid" The Question's response made Oracle's blood freeze. Seeing her face, he nodded sadly. "Hub City is a nest of corruption, and some of its best are also some of its worst. All were under the payroll of Wesley Fermin, until I exposed him."

"You did?"

The Question nodded. "I dismantled his operation, brick by brick. I uncovered his corruption and exposed him as the monster he truly is. If I had my way, he would be in jail now, or worse" He clenched his fist. "But he fled Hub City before I could get to him. I've been on his trail for months now, and I aim to finish what I started. I owe it to the people he's influenced, I owe it to all the people he's hurt. I don;t want him to corrupt Gotham like he did Hub City."

Oracle nodded. "So, what do we do first?" She asked, smiling at the faceless man.

Meanwhile

The Ten-eyed man groaned and shifted on the debris that Batman had thrown him into. Katana had just finished handcuffing the man's hands together and wrapping his fingers in a dark cloth, effectively blinding him for transport to Blackgate.

As Batman stretched his sore shoulder, the radio in his cowl chirped.

Incoming message from the Batcave, the batcomputer's tinny voice announced.

"Batman" Alfred's voice crackled through. "I've got Dr. Langstrom here. He was able to identify the compound"

"Put him through" Batman ordered. Katana looked up, then touched her earpiece so she could listen in as Man-Bat began speaking.

"The compound in question is called Pseudoderm." He stated. "It's original purpose was to serve as a bandage that would be invisible and indistinguishable from regular skin. However, the project was scrapped after a dangerous side effect was discovered"

"What kind of side effect?" Batman asked.

"It was discovered that the compound became toxic when applied upon an open wound." Man-Bat explained. "As this defeated the project's original purpose, the project was stopped and the two creators separated."

"Who were the creators?"

"They're names were Barby Twain and Aristotle Rodor." Man-Bat replied. "But I do not know where they are now"

"Understood. Alfred, see if you can find out who where these scientists are. We'll get back to you." Batman signed off and turned to Katana as police sirens were heard in the distance.

"Keep an eye on him" Batman motioned to the Ten Eyed Man. "Once Alfred's located them, I'll pay them a visit." With that, Batman turned away.

"Wait, what about the Question?" Katana's voice made him stop. He nodded and reached for his radio.

"Oracle come in."

No response.

"Oracle, this is Batman. Are you there?"

Still no response.

"Oracle, answer me!" Batman's tone was more shrill. Still nothing. Batman and Katana exchange glances.

"She always answers when we call her. Something must be wrong" Katana's voice clearly betrayed the worry she was feeling. "I'd better go check on her"

"I'll check on her" Batman held out a hand. "You need to make sure he stays put" He gestured to their captive. Before Katana could argue, Batman turned, shot out a grappling line and flew away. Katana scowled as she did the same, flying to the top of the nearest building where she could watch the street below.

"I hope Barbara's okay" She said to herself as she watched the police cars pull up.